This photo, taken by John Baldessari, is a famous piece called Wrong. This photo shows a man standing directly in front of a tree, while the photographer is on the other side of the road. Like the photo is named after the word “Wrong”, we can see that John Baldessari had this intention in mind since this photo contains bad composition, poor focus, and does not follow the rule of thirds. Since this shows that John Baldessari was not trying to present a beautiful photo but was highlighting what photography rules consider mistakes and then questioning whether it really matters, since an idea cannot be right or wrong as it is executed as a personal response.  

This suggests that Baldessari was aware of the photography rules and intentionally chose to break them. I think that he wanted the viewers to notice the “mistake” and question why it was made, rather than simply viewing the photo as careless.

To answer the questions, “Can a ‘bad’ picture ever be ‘great’?” and “How important is context in photography?”

I believe that a ‘bad‘ picture can be ‘great‘ since I hold the belief that the thing that matters most in a picture is the theme you are going for and trying to present to the viewers. Although this photo by Baldessari may seem like a bad photo, the purpose behind the photo is very creative and revolutionary.  

Context is important in photography, since it can ease the photographer’s burden of conveying a specific message and elevate the viewer’s willingness to see the picture’s beauty. However, a photo with or without context does not determine whether a picture is good or bad. A picture without context can also be a great photo since it stays mysterious and questions the viewers to think, “Why and when was this picture taken? What message is this photographer trying to tell us?” 

When viewers try to figure out the message behind the photo, they are placing themselves in the photographer’s perspective. This connects to the theory of mind, because the artwork encourages understanding another person’s intentions and thoughts.

Citation:

Baldessari, John “Wrong“ Photograph. Dragon’s Exchange, ISB, 22nd August 2024. https://dx.isb.cn/dash/#/classroom/648607/sections/lesson/344114/page/344116/edit, Accessed 22nd August 2024.

“Context – its about the title – Blog Post 1” ISB, https://dx.isb.cn/dash/#/classroom/648607/sections/lesson/344114/page/344116. Accessed 22 August 2024.